"Clowns" Topic

I received a complaint a few months back from someone, who objected to the use of "clown" as an insult. He said that shouldn't be tolerated, "not even on TMP" (or words to that effect).

Really??? Would you actually get all worked up if someone called you a "clown"?

Despite the TMP FAQ's prohibition, calling someone an "idiot" gets a free pass. Not sure why "clown" would be more offensive. And "arseclown" has gone unchallenged, although used frequently.

Having said that, clowns are the ultimate personification of evil in the waking world. In that context, the term could be considered pejorative.

Allen

According to the thesaurus, it does seem to violate the rulz unless it is also OK to call someone stupid:

Main Entry: clown
Part of Speech: noun

Definition: stupid, ignorant person

Synonyms: blockhead, boor, bucolic, buffoon, bumpkin, chuff, churl, clodhopper, gawk, hayseed, hick, hind, jake, lout, mucker, oaf, peasant, rube, rustic, swain, yahoo, yokel

Regards, the Gorb

As mentioned above, questioning someone else's intelligence is not "bad enough", as the Editor has stated.

My mother had an intense phobia about clowns for some reason LOL.She hated them but I find "clown" though very low on the totem pole of intended insults LOL. Robert

Despite the TMP FAQ's prohibition, calling someone an "idiot" gets a free pass.

Guess I should update the FAQ. "Idiot" just doesn't seem serious enough to get Dawghoused over.

And "arseclown" has gone unchallenged, although used frequently.

I know that "arse" has been allowed, and "arseclown" seems more in the spirit of a Haddockism.

unless it is also OK to call someone stupid:

By the logic of the FAQ, it's OK to say that someone's argument is stupid. Calling someone stupid would be a personal attack, but a pretty mild one – just a bit stronger than "oaf," don't you think?

From the FAQ: "No name calling."

Seems simple enough to me.

I think "Clown" would be an insult…I hate Clowns…my mommas best friends sisters cousins next door neighbors uncles youngest brothers oldest nephews 2nd cousins girfriends sister, got groped by a clown at a Tractor Pull in Scottville Virginia back in 1974…She had greasepainted finger markings all over places she shouldn't have!

Call me a clown and I'll have to thump you in defense of her honor…I think…

I thought they were to amuse people – as in, "Am I a clown? I'm here to amuse you?" You know…a funny guy.

Oh, and Murph that story is sad – reminds me of the scene from "Kinjite"

Yes clowns are evil but the ones you need to really watch out for are the mimes. They are like the ninjas of the clown empire or a fart, silent but deadly. Before you know it they have you trapped in one of those invisable boxes of thiers.

Is it just me or is this site imploding into a constant stream of threads about policing non-issues… alarums raised by pantywaisted tea cozies with nothing better to do than peak out the curtains of their bomb shelters and take notes on the suspicious movements of their neighbors?

Nope, it's just you.

Clowns are way way too scary… they live under your bed and will eat you.

Springer once had a guest who did clown porn. I guess they aren't all evil. Just most of them!

Depends if you're talking bout a fun happy clown or a John Wayne Gacey kinda clown

Being a good clown is skilled profession. The demise of the circus tradition makes them an endangered species.

At least the British Red Nose Day telethon keeps the ethos alive.

In Spain calling someone a clown is frequently a substitution of calling him a …

So an Spaniard could be very offended when calling him a clown. But we are easily offended anyway so you can never be sure.

The trouble is, if you dissallow clown, then no posts about Boris Johnson would be allowed in any context, as clown is the one printable term about him that is allowed…

In Spain calling someone a clown is frequently a substitution of calling him a twa..

So an Spaniard could be very offended when calling him a clown. But we are easily offended anyway so you can never be sure.

Could you call him a pajero instead?

pocuk.com

It's a 4x4 vehicle here, before the thin-skinned start moaning. I don't object to being called a 4x4…

While clowns are evil, mimes are more so.

Seriously(ish) where do these sensitive souls live? It must be very genteel and fluffy and nice.

A bit like Frinton (look it up), but without the rough edges, and with nicer lace curtains.

I bet they still cover the legs of their pianos too.

I am amazed by the amount of whining developed from such a simple question.

However, to be on point, I guess I would have to look at the insult in context…is the attacker intimating that I am John Wayne Gacey, Willard Scoot, or Ronald McDonald. On refelection I guess any of those would be an insult.

And yes, clowns are evil. My grandmother had one of those clown dolls like the one they used in Poltergeist that she kept in the room where I slept when we went to visit her. My mother could never figure out why she always found me asleep under the bed in the mornings.

Harumph! I thought Bill was calling us all clowns. I'm offended!

Folks…as I said in a previous post….

Here's a clown….YOU take a look at his site and THEN decide for yourself….(NSFW…actually Not Safe For Anything)…

ouchytheclown.com

And yes….I went to high school with this guy…..

*sigh*

The things I do for you folks….

Some people on this site really need to get out more.

Seriously(ish) where do these sensitive souls live?

Spain?.

It must be very genteel and fluffy and nice.

Not here then, there must be somewhere else.

I think name calling is name calling.

If someone needs to resort to name-calling in any form, they should be DH'ed.

If for nothing else than to punish them for lack of imagination…

The actual WORD isn't at issue is it?
Clearly the person MEANT to personally attack someone by using it.

Clown is an insulting name to call someone. Idiot is an insulting name to call someone. Determining how offensive an insulting remark might be taken is a very slippery slope.

Manners breed trust. There are plenty of things that divide wargamers; scale, period, rules, scope of conflict, etc. Perhaps if civility was encouraged, that might breed trust and improve the quality of this forum.

"Idiot" just doesn't seem serious enough to get Dawghoused over.

It seems to be more of an offense then the non-offense of disregarding the moderator.

I'm a bit grumpy as I thought this was going to be a usefully thread on 28mm killer clowns.

Doesn't seem particularly offensive to me. Perhaps the complainant wasn't loved as a child.

Clown?? Really???? *faceplam*

YouTube link
YouTube link

I don't like clowns but would not consider it a duelable offense.

Here's a clown….YOU take a look at his site and THEN decide for yourself….(NSFW…actually Not Safe For Anything)…

ouchytheclown.com

And yes….I went to high school with this guy…..

Hey, check out Ouchy's gallery. That's Mr. Jingles from Comfy Chair Games!!

link

Really??? Would you actually get all worked up if someone called you a "clown"?

If someone called me a clown, I wouldn't get all worked up. However with some of the people that get called clowns, if I were a clown, I would get upset.

"Let your speech be yes, yes and no, no, for anything more than this leads to evil"….

All right, everybody. Out of the car.

JW

I don't like Clowns; however the word has no power over me.

Donald~
not at all clownish; although a bit of a boob from time to time.

I like boobs.

Me too, but I only like them in pairs and pairs of pairs.

I hate clowns. And mimes. And jesters also. Pure evil, the lot of them. That being said, I've always wanted an army of killer clowns with ninja mimes and wizard jesters, with Ronald McDonald as the general. And calliope chariots drawn by two pairs of clowns in horse costumes (or cows maybe). Imagine the complete and utter fear this army would elicit on the table top!

Oh, and I wouldn't take any "clown" insults thrown my way seriously as I tend to be a joker.:)

I could live with being called a clown, but call me a mime and I will hunt you down and shoot you

with my mime rifle

Why is this on the poll suggestions board ?

Surely we don't need – is it ok to call TMPers clowns ?

Yes
No
Not a wargamer
Not a clown

"Hobo" or "Mekrob" I could understand….but "Clown"…???
Tell that *ussy to suck it up!

"arseclown" seems more in the spirit of a Haddockism.

Not even close – Bill, did you ever read Tintin? Not even close.

BTW, neither arseclown nor clown bother me at all.

The person who Bill mentions that complained is in need of some serious counselling and really must get a life. I'm finding people have gotten super sensitive here lately.\
--
Tim

I like clowns.
Arlecchino, Pantelone, Pulchinello, Brighella et al are funny.

Nothing wrong with calling someone with an IQ of less than 10 an idiot, thats the official classification. Likewise if they fall into the bracket of a score of 50 to 69 they are a moron, 20 to 49 an imbecile…70 to 80 they are "borderline deficiency" – which doesn't somehow have quite same ring to it

There is "nothing wrong" with calling someone with an IQ of 55 a moron except that it is insulting and boorish behavior. The Rules of Conduct are explicit with regard to calling a homosexual names. Some words are insulting even if true.

Insults undermine trust, which ends intelligent discourse. Left unchecked, the hurt feelings are only the tip of the iceberg. For those familiar with other forums without effective rules of conduct, they have devolved into uninformative dens of pithy remarks, insults, and crude language. The original value of such forums has eroded.

My top clowns;Loonette and Granny Garbanzo.

Insults undermine trust, which ends intelligent discourse. Left unchecked, the hurt feelings are only the tip of the iceberg. For those familiar with other forums without effective rules of conduct, they have devolved into uninformative dens of pithy remarks, insults, and crude language. The original value of such forums has eroded.

Thank you so very very much. You certainly are far more enlightened in this area than the rest of us, and your insights on the nature of human interaction and intelligent discourse are an epiphany.